Queen of Escape
by LazuliLAnime25
Summary: AU. "I ran from my homeland...only to get stuck with new problems." Sakura realizes that she might be the best escape artist around, but she can never escape from all the guys after her. (SakuraXmulti) ON HIATUS UNTIL I FINISH THINGS COULD BE! SORRY TO THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY LIKE IT :)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Departure**

**Full Summary: The Raikage was the ruler of Kumo. If you disobeyed him, the consequence was death. But one person escapes without being seen:**

**Haruno Sakura**

**Her freedom from the Raikage brings new problems. Two of her exes try to interfere and as much as Sakura wants to push them away, they won't budge. Larger predicaments arise when she arrives in Konoha and meets Uchiha Sasuke and the new Kazekage.**

**Well that summary sucked but the story is better, I assure you. This chapter is more of an introduction so it's not very long.**

**I've tried to make a schedule of updating. Things Could Be on one day and Queen of Escape the day after then Things Could Be etc...**

**Disclaimer: Duh, I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Even if Sakura ran during her high school days, she was never as tired as she was now. Maybe two days of running did that to you.

If there was one thing that Sakura was good at, it was escape.

_Flashback_

Her fingers typed nimbly across the keyboard to decode the security cameras so she could put them on repeat. Besides being good at running away, she was an excellent hacker. The skill was only used now when she _needed_ to escape.

The Raikage had arranged a marriage between Sakura and his son. Normally, Sakura would've done whatever the Raikage said. But in this case...she was getting married. To a man she had never seen or met before.

When a green box with the word: Approved, on it appeared on the screen of her computer, she grinned and picked up a backpack containing her most important belongings.

Without a look back, she dashed through a bent fence that made part of the perimeter of Kumo.

_End Flashback_

_'It's for the best,' _she mentally told herself over and over again. It's not like she had a family to return to anyway. Her parents were dead and the rest of her family lived in Ame. No way she was going there. Crime was three times as frequent there and Kumo already had a high crime rate.

And she hadn't seen her brother in years.

Hidan was always protective of her, not to mention a badmouth. One day, he said he was headed for Yugakure to pursue teaching martian arts and promised to write.

He never did.

Sakura was used to life without him. She might've been touchy about the subject but she never physically lashed out. It was one of the many things she kept to herself about.

Glancing to her right, she spotted the tall canyon walls of Suna and sighed. _'Three days outside of Konoha. Great.'_

She didn't notice the dark brown eyes following her as she ran on.

* * *

When distorted rays of sun beamed down from the sky, Sakura rubbed her eyes and stood up from the tree she was leaning against. She had traveled for two more days before taking a rest and was very close to Konoha.

Once she attempted to untangle her thick pink locks, she set out again for the Village Hidden in the Leaf.

She had already planned ahead for when she got there and had brought all her money with her, even her mother's and father's dowry for her.

When the Hokage Monument came into view a black and red blur flickered across Sakura's vision and she groaned.

"What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"Do you have to ask, yeah?" a painstakingly familiar voice questioned back.

"What. Do You. Want. Deidara?" Sakura repeated.

"You, yeah." Deidara landed behind her and hugged his arms around her entire waist.

"Get the fuck off her, artist-shit," another male voice, also painful to hear, ordered harshly.

_'Not Sasori too. I hope I make it to Konoha soon.'_

* * *

**Ta da! Cliffie! I know this chapter isn't interesting but it's just an introduction chapter so it probably isn't.**

**I hope to continue it, even if this chapter sucks.**

**If you need more explanation, I can make the next chapter longer. Seriously, I'm exhausted and really bored so I'm doing this right now.**

**Please R&R!**


	2. Familiarity

**Chapter 2: Familiarity**

**Hi! Been busy lately but still have enough time to do this. And sorry about the weird typo on the last chappie. It's supposed to be martial arts. I have no idea what was wrong with my hand. Oops...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Deidara and Sasori stared each other down like they were in a Mexican style fight of "who's gonna attack first?" Sasori's face looked angrier...reason being a certain blonde had his hand around Sakura's waist.

"Let me go, you mustard-vomit blonde!" Sakura slammed her foot on Deidara's and the artist flinched, loosening his grip enough to get out.

Sasori smirked. "That's my girl."

"No! She's my girl, Sasori-no-danna, yeah!" Deidara yelled.

"I don't belong to either of you! If you hadn't noticed, I broke up with you both!" Sakura glared at both of them.

They avoided her eyes and stared at each other, flames in their eyes. Sakura had been surprised when she found out that the two were best friends. That is, until she started dating Sasori...and then Deidara.

"She's mine, you faker! Your art isn't even real!" Sasori scoffed.

Deidara bristled. "Art is fleeting, yeah! A bang!"

"You baka! True art is everlasting!"

Sakura smirked with a slight sweatdrop. It was time to run like hell. Without a look back, she took off, hitting her feet lightly on the ground.

Ten minutes later, the two men realized the girl was no longer with them and started freaking out. Deidara was easy to imagine freaking out, but Sasori went crazy.

* * *

With a gash on her arm from a tree branch, Sakura kept running. She had put a good amount of distance between her and the two artists.

_'This is Konoha's forest. Weird things happen here,'_ she thought and heightened her senses. Abductions and murders often took place in the forest and Sakura knew she wouldn't be able to sleep in there.

"Godammit," she muttered as she searched her backpack for bandages of any type. Her gash was dripping and by the looks of it, if left out any longer she would get an infection. After ripping the sleeves off a t-shirt, she made them into strips and looked around for a water source. Hearing one nearby, she headed towards it and dipped a couple of the strips in the stream. She hastily wrapped the wet ones around her arm and put the others around it. The cut stung but at least it was effective.

_'Hope I get in Konoha soon and can buy some disinfectant and real bandages.'_ Sakura looked up at the sky and saw the dark navy slowly transition to deep red-orange. _'Time to move again.'_

Her sore feet ran towards Konoha, the Hokage Monument in sight.

* * *

"Oi, Izumo? Why are we always stuck with the crappy jobs?" a bored Kotetsu asked his friend and partner.

"For the last time, I have no clue. Don't ask me again," Izumo growled back and turned back to the book in his hands. Gate-keeping got so boring he decided to start reading.

They sat in silence for another seven minutes until Kotetsu squinted at something in the distance. "What the hell?"

"It's probably your mom," Izumo stated without looking up from his book.

"I don't think my mom has pink hair."

"She could. I remember when she got the rainbow afro and-"

"Holy shit."

A pink-haired girl stumbled through the gate and fell down, apparently unconscious. Kotetsu nudged his partner to get his nose out of the book.

"Help her, you baka!" Izumo ordered and grabbed his phone.

"Hokage-sama, we've got a visitor."

* * *

"And you're telling me she just collapsed in the gate?" the Godaime, Tsunade, asked.

Izumo nodded.

"Alright. Well, her arm was treated before it could get an infection, I applaud her for that. Bring her to me when she wakes up," Tsunade ordered and left the hospital room in which Sakura was sleeping.

Again, Izumo nodded and the Hokage left.

* * *

Sakura felt groggy when she opened her eyes and saw white. After blinking a few more times, she saw it was a ceiling and moved her eyes down to scan her body. Her arm had been wrapped with a real bandage and her legs had been cleaned off. The breathing mask she had on blocked her vision a little bit. Her hand felt heavy but she realized an IV had been attached. No one had bothered to change her clothes.

"Glad to see you're awake. I'm Kotetsu. The Hokage wants to see you," a man with a bandage across his nose and spiky dark hair said.

Sakura nodded and slowly sat up. Her back was stiff and she pulled off the breathing mask. "How long was I out?"

Kotetsu had to count on his fingers, stopping when he reached seven, then started counting again, ending on eight this time. "Three days."

She looked at him like he was crazy but he grinned and she prepared to stand up. Using the IV stand (or whatever it's called but you know what I'm talking about) as a walking stick in a way.

"May I ask your name?" Kotetsu asked.

Sakura glanced at him warily. "Haruno Sakura."

"Age?"

"Twenty-two."

"Height?"

"5'5" (Hey, she had to grow more than what she is in the databooks)

"Blood type?"

"O."

"Any family near here?"

Sakura shook her head.

"I'll take you to Hokage-sama," Kotetsu stated and led the way out of the hospital room.

* * *

Tsunade liked to think of herself as professional, but she was smart enough to know that wasn't always the case. Her excessive drinking was a problem but at the moment, she was completely sober. Shizune, her assistant and apprentice, had thought something was wrong with her. Tsunade found it rather funny.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she commanded, "come in."

Kotetsu walked in, followed by Sakura who was using Izumo to keep upright. They had found him on the way to Tsunade's office.

"Sakura, I'm surprised you don't recognize me," Tsunade said.

The girl eyed her with curiosity. Soon her eyes widened in realization and she smiled. "Shishou, it's been a long time."

"Hai, it has. I've been wondering how long it'd be until you decided to leave that hell-hole," Tsunade commented.

"I've been wanting to get out since freshman year. I hated it there," Sakura groaned, not relying on Izumo anymore.

Tsunade shuffled through some papers on her desk and found the one she was looking for. "You'll be staying with me until you get enough to buy your own apartment. I think a hospital nurse would be good for you until I can review what you've learned in those years I've been gone."

Sakura nodded.

"Welcome to Konoha."

* * *

**I don't think I have any typos but it was too troublesome to go back and review it all ;)**

**Hope you enjoyed it! R&R! More reviews please!**


	3. Adjusting

**Chapter 3: Adjusting**

**What's up? It's been a little while since I've updated this story. I'm hoping to get to a point where I don't have to check for typos. Thursday through Sunday might be rough on updating because I have a horse show and a funeral. Geez, I just realized how many family members have died in the last two years.**

**If you're wondering, any sort of connection to Kumo in this story will not appear again.**

**Thanks to:**

_**miss-weena**_

_**kelpiejh**_

_**itachi13080**_

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Naruto.**

* * *

It didn't take very long for Sakura to adjust to life in Konoha. Knowing Tsunade really came in handy with the elders. She easily made friends with Ino, a volunteer at the hospital and manager of the flower shop, and Naruto, the Hokage in training who had to visit the hospital quite often. They introduced her to Tenten, Hinata, Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru, all of whom seemed to accept her as a friend. Sakura and Kiba didn't necessarily hit it off well but she was introduced to Akamaru and the dog adored her. You can imagine the effect it had on Kiba (there's not KibaSaku in this fic, sorry). Shikamaru didn't really pay any attention to her until she actually defeated him in a game of shogi. _That_ even made a column in the newspaper.

Two months had passed since Sakura's arrival. Tsunade had promoted her to a nurse, now that she was officially a citizen.

"Oi, Sakura-chan! You know what's happening today?!" Naruto excitedly asked her at their weekend ramen outing.

"There's a new ramen flavor test and you volunteered?" Sakura raised an eyebrow with boredom. She was perfectly full from 3/4 of her bowl. Normally she got a regular but there was some special that made it cheaper to get a large.

"My friend from Suna's coming to visit!" Naruto exclaimed and sprayed noodle bits at Sakura's face.

"Very mannerly, Naruto," she gritted out while wiping her face with a towel, courtesy of Ayame.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," he apologized and rubbed the back of his head.

Said girl sighed and felt her anger dissipate. "Who's your friend?"

"Gaara, and his brother's coming too. His sister has to take over his duties until he returns."

"...Gaara?! The Kazekage?! He's your friend?!"

"Hai! What's the problem with that?"

"Well he's so...and you're so...-"

"Hinata-chan says I'm admirable!"

"Of course she does."

"Huh? Why?"

"What are you? Dumb? Dense?"

"Oi! Don't insult me!"

"What time is it anyway?"

"Uh, 13:45."

"What the hell? You have it on military time, you baka!"

Sakura grabbed Naruto's wrist and furiously adjusted a few things before looking at his watch. "1:45. Shit! I'm soooooo late!"

She disappeared, leaving a confused Naruto until Ayame placed the receipt in from of him. "SAKURA-CHAAAAAN!"

* * *

"Arigato, Sakura-san. We need more nurses like you around here," an elderly woman said as Sakura finished her check-up.

"That's sweet of you, Miyazawa-sama (and yes it's a real name! It's my uncle's last name!) I hope I can work with Tsunade-sama a bit more and become a surgeon," Sakura responded.

"Just Kiyo is fine. I'm sure you'd be good at it. Have a nice day." Kiyo waved as she walked out of the room.

"Oi! Sakura! You have to come see the Kazekage!" Ino shouted and grabbed Sakura's hand.

"Ino? Why? Is he hurt?" Sakura questioned.

"No, you baka! Tsunade-sama wants you to escort him around the village! Naruto was supposed to do it but he must've ran off again! Augh! That baka!"

"Okaaaaaay. Where am I supposed to meet him?"

"In Tsunade-sama's office. I'd hurry, you're ten minutes late already."

"Geez, Ino! You don't give a crap about me, huh?!" Sakura yelled behind her as she ran through the streets towards Tsunade's office.

"Love you too!" Ino called back.

(Konoha has streets and cars and phones. Computers too. The streets aren't busy on this day though)

Sakura reached Tsunade's office and knocked on the door. A muffled "come in" sounded from inside and Sakura walked in.

At first, she was impressed by the Kazekage. That didn't last too long when her attention was diverted to her teacher's pissed-off face. Thank Kami there were guests and Tsunade could manage to contain her anger. Though the expression on the Hokage's face promised a talk later. There wasn't much talking at those.

"Please escort Kaze-erm, Gaara around Konoha. I'll be doing government negotiation stuff with Kankuro here," Tsunade explained and gestured to the man who was next to Gaara.

Sakura gave a confused face. Shouldn't she be leading Kankuro around instead of the Kazekage?

At her look, Tsunade gazed at her sternly and said in a deeper voice, "just do it."

An audible gulp from Sakura and a sweatdrop from Kankuro had the Kazekage and the pink-haired girl outside and headed to the Academy.

"By the way, I'm Haruno Sakura. I don't know why Naruto's not leading you around," Sakura introduced herself.

"You know Naruto?" Gaara asked.

"Hai, he's a good friend," Sakura replied.

Gaara looked pleased with that answer.

They almost reached the Academy when a male voice shouted, "watch out!"

"Augh, shit," Sakura muttered as someone on a bike crashed into her. She opened her mouth to shout at them but saw familiar dark hair. And the face of probably the most attractive guy she'd ever laid eyes on. It only took her a few seconds to look away and gather air for chastising him.

"What the hell?!" both yelled at the same time.

Gaara seemed momentarily surprised but kept his collected expression. "Oi, Sasuke."

"Hn, Gaara," the person named Sasuke greeted.

"A 'sorry' would be really nice," Sakura hissed from under the heap.

"Apparently you don't know who I am. 'Sorry' isn't in my vocabulary," Sasuke retorted and stood up, taking his bike with him.

"I guess not. Bike on the road next time," Sakura said and received a nod in agreement from Gaara.

"Whatever, nice meeting you, Haruno." Sasuke mounted on his bike and pedaled off.

"Oi! How'd you know who I am?!" Sakura hollered after him but didn't get a response. "Oh well. Here's the Academy, where students begin at ages four or five and continue until ages twelve or thirteen. The teachers here are-"

She didn't seem to notice Gaara's amused glance at the tree a little ways away with a certain raven-haired man behind it.

* * *

"Oi, Teme! What are you doing behind that tree? You look like a retard!" Naruto walked up to his best friend/rival.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke ordered.

"And why're you covered in scrapes?! I thought you actually had a new record of not going to the doctor!"

"I crashed into someone...that's Haruno Sakura right?"

"Yep! The one and only!"

A smirk appeared on Sasuke's face. "Interesting."

* * *

**Another chapter done! If I made any typos, don't hesitate to tell me! **

**If you're confused, there is no GaaraSaku in this fic. I like the pairing but I'm sticking with SasuSaku, DeiSaku, and SasoSaku. There's also NejiTen, ShikaInoTema, and NaruHina. There was a tiny bit of NaruHina in this chapter.**

**Chapter 4 Sneak Peek:**

**"You can't hide forever in that closet, yeah," Deidara said and knocked down the door. "Eh?! There's a window in the closet!"**

**Please R&R!**


	4. Trapped

**Chapter 4: Trapped**

**Hey! I had the horse show and had to ride in three classes per day so I haven't been able to update as quickly. Finished the horse show and mostly got 3rd's and 4th's with one 2nd. Hoping to get more awards next time.**

**Thanks to:**

_**itachi13080**_

**Disclaimer: Standard, whatever.**

* * *

Sakura shut her drawer after putting her last shirt away. Her apartment that she had purchased after saving up was pretty small but it was plenty of room for her. The only carpeted room was her bedroom and hardwood made up the kitchen and living room. It wasn't her preference, but she enjoyed the privacy.

Just as she headed to the kitchen to make dinner, the phone rang and she groaned before going to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"SAKURA-CHAN, YEAH!" a very familiar hyper voice screamed into the phone.

She yanked the phone away from her ear and cursed. "How the hell did you get this number, Deidara?"

"I begged that chicken-ass-haired guy, yeah! He wasn't too happy about it, yeah," Deidara added as an afterthought.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Suuuuure. Where are you anyway?"

"Outside your door, yeah!"

_'Aw, shit!'_ Sakura ran towards her bedroom closet and slammed the door.

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAN! I'M KNOCKING DOWN THE DOOR, YEAH!" A loud boom shook the apartment. "OWWIE! OOH, A CREDIT CARD!"

Deidara managed to open the door and scanned the area for Sakura. "Where are you, yeah?!" He checked the kitchen cabinets first and found nothing, heading to the bathroom next.

"Ooh, it smells good," he commented with a swooning face. His last option was the bedroom. The space underneath the bed was too narrow to fit in so he turned his attention to the closet.

"You can't hide forester in that closet, yeah," Deidara said and knocked down the door. "Eh?! There's a window in the closet?!"

He dashed to the light source and looked down. "O-M-FUCKING-G!"

The window was eight stories up and no ladder or rope was in sight.

"THAT JUST MAKES YOU THAT MORE AWESOME, SAKURA-CHAN!"

* * *

"Ino! Thank Kami you're here!" Sakura sighed as the flower shop door closed behind her.

"Huh? What's so great about me working?" Ino asked lazily.

"My ex just broke into my house! What do I do?!"

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Kick his ass?"

"You have no idea who this guy is! If I kick his ass, his boss will come after me! And I don't mean he'll murder me! Have you ever met Nagato?!"

"Sakura, stop freaking out."

"He's a freakin' sex god, Ino!"

The blonde sighed. She was bored as hell and figured this was the only entertainment she was getting today.

"If you really want to get away from him, go to Naruto's place. No one _dares_ to go there." Ino plucked the petals of a withering daisy.

When she looked up again, all she saw was the door closing.

* * *

Sakura knocked furiously on Naruto's orange apartment door. Muffled footsteps sounded near the door before it opened, revealing a raven-haired boy.

"Oi, Haruno," Sasuke greeted.

She shoved her way past him and wrinkled her nose at the smell. Ramen cups littered the floor and furniture while yellow stains marked the partially white couch. Sakura didn't know if it was ramen broth or..._something_ else.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked after shutting the door.

"Looking for Naruto," she answered numbly.

"He's constipated in the bathroom but I can take a message."

"Eager to get rid of me?"

A deep chuckle came from behind her and Sakura whipped around to glare at him. "Just the opposite, though the dobe's place is a bad atmosphere."

She only glared at him harder and bit her lip when a toilet flushed. Her hold on her lip tingled and she began to flat out laugh. Sasuke raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

_'Her laugh...'_

"TEME! GIVE ME THE DAMN MEDICINE! AND MORE TOILET PAPER!" Naruto screamed from the bathroom and Sakura choked.

"NARUTO! PUT A FILTER ON THAT MOUTH OF YOURS!" she hollered back.

"SAKURA-CHAN?! YOU'RE HERE?! WHERE'S THE TEME?!"

Sasuke muttered something that sounded like "dobe" under his breath and grabbed a bottle from the kitchen counter. With _extremely _reluctant feet, he walked to the bathroom and slid the door open a bit.

It became the biggest regret of his life.

There weren't any words to describe the odor. Take the smell of the sewer and mix it with vinegar, ramen, pepper, a vegetarian's puke, and dead fish. Sasuke passed out upon impact.

"EH?! TEME! THE TOILET CLOGGED AND I DON'T HAVE A PLUNGER SO I HAD TO USE THE BATHTUB!" Naruto just had to announce.

Sakura nearly puked and suddenly felt sympathy towards Sasuke. But, as long as Deidara stayed away, she was fine.

Unfortunately, Sasuke left the door open and Sakura also fainted from the smell.

* * *

She didn't know how long she was passed out, but Sakura knew she was being carried by someone bridal style. Someone with muscle.

Sakura snapped her eyes open and she looked up to see Sasori. She jumped out of his arms and took off running.

Sasori didn't run. It was a fact stated long, long ago in a shinobi galaxy far, far away... (no intention to copy Star Wars :B)

He did have his resources though.

"Deidara, she's on the run."

* * *

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAN, YEAH!" Deidara shouted after his pink-haired love interest.

_'Aww, shit,'_ she thought and ran faster.

"WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME, YEAH?!" He began crying anime tears.

Sakura nearly stopped when she saw his nearly-irresistable blue puppy-dog eyes. Even if she wanted to escape from him, she couldn't deny how completely gorgeous he was. And she couldn't deny that she had kissed him more times than she could count. She was the one that ended their relationship. Was it normal for guys to be clingy?

She spotted an alley and sped up to hide in it. Deidara might've been adorable but he was a lot like Naruto, and didn't always use his brain. He ran straight past her hiding spot.

Sakura let out a sigh. She began to back out of the dark alley when someone wrapped their arms around her waist.

"Strange to find you here," the person said and Sakura easily recognized it.

"Sasuke."

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

**Cliffie! I think I've established the love square by now. But...**

**I'm going to add more options.**

**So, choose (you can choose more than one but no more than two)**

**A) Itachi**

**B) Neji**

**C) Shikamaru**

**D) Nagato/Pein**

**E) Kiba**

**I'm actually kind of hoping to add Shikamaru since ShikaSaku is my second favorite pairing but I support ShikaIno too. And don't listen to my opinion there, choose whatever you want.**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE R&R!**


	5. Flames

**Chapter 5: Flames**

**Hi! I know I'm updating sooner on this chapter than Things Could Be but I was really excited for this chapter!**

**Itachi won the poll. I'll have one at the end of each chapter until I feel like I have enough options for Sakura. If I don't decide on one guy I'll just do alternate endings.**

**Thanks to:**

**itachi13080**

**The three guests who I thank soooo much but at the moment can't remember your names!**

**Disclaimer: I think you get the point.**

* * *

Sakura didn't intend to knock Sasuke out. She seriously hoped it was coincidence that he touched her breast.

Oh well, the damage was done and she managed to hoist him onto her right shoulder, making her lean heavily to the left. _Everyone_ knew where Uchiha Sasuke lived. Sakura didn't exactly _want_ to know but people who lived near her didn't give her much of an option.

Sasuke's mansion wasn't very far from the hospital. His parents paid for the place but they were always away on business trips. He preferred to live alone, with the exception of Junichi and Nobu, who were such close friends with Sasuke's parents that they decided to serve as butler and cook. (As informed by Naruto)

Once she reached the mansion, not without struggling, she knocked on the door since the doorbell was out of range.

"May I help-what happened?!" a middle-aged man opened the door and took Sasuke from Sakura's shoulder.

"Gomen, I'm Sakura and I might've sorta...knocked Sasuke out," Sakura explained and nervously twisted her hands behind her back.

She didn't know if she should follow him or not so she stepped inside but stayed by the door.

"Ah, that's fine. It's about time someone damaged his pride," the man said and laid Sasuke on the couch. "My name's Junichi."

As Sakura opened her mouth to reply, a different voice interrupted. "Junichi? Is Sasuke back?"

The pink-haired girl turned in the direction of where the voice came from and suppressed a stare. The man looked similar to Sasuke with the dark hair and apathetic expression. Sakura instantly recognized him as Uchiha Itachi, the chief of the Konoha Police Department. She couldn't find a reason to disagree with what Ino said about him. Ino called pretty much every guy hot, but she said Itachi was drop dead gorgeous.

"And who are you?" Itachi asked, a tiny smirk appearing on his face.

"Haruno Sakura. I didn't know you lived with Sasuke," Sakura commented.

"I don't. But I thought I'd visit him." Then he added a lower, "it turned out more interesting than I thought."

Sakura really hoped she was imagining the husky edge to his tone. And Itachi really hoped she bought his lie. He had seen the incident in the alley and got to the mansion before Sakura could.

"Sasuke should wake up soon. I'll get some painkillers. You knocked him out pretty good, Sakura-san," Junichi said and headed to a different room, most likely the kitchen.

Itachi's smirk grew. "Congratulations for putting my brother in his place."

"Erm, arigato. I hope he won't murder me for this." Sakura winced at the thought.

The smirk disappeared. "He wouldn't do something like that."

Itachi knew how his brother would react to this kind of thing. If Sakura's natural reaction to people touching her breast was to knock people out, Sasuke would spend way more time with his eyes closed. It was bad enough his college friends appeared in Konoha.

"If you want to stay a little longer, I think a chair is more comfortable than standing," Itachi changed the topic and gestured to a seat not too far from the couch Sasuke was on.

Sakura shook her head. "It's late. I should be heading home."

Before Itachi had a chance to say bye, Sakura was gone. He looked at Sasuke and narrowed his eyes.

_'I've trusted you with everything, but this is something I can't entrust to you.'_

* * *

It was eleven when Sakura got home. Her instincts kicked in and she locked the windows, covering each with curtains. When she entered her bedroom, she cursed after railing there wasn't a lock and a chair definitely wasn't enough to keep the door closed.

Thank Kami for Duct Tape! Sakura quickly sealed the door with tape and was extra careful to add about five more layers. Who cares if the paint comes off?

Once she changed into a tank top and short cotton shorts, Sakura slipped into bed and hesitantly fell asleep, the feeling of someone watching her the entire time.

* * *

"Danna, you made me look like an idiot, yeah!" Deidara pouted.

"I don't care, baka," Sasori muttered.

"You wound me, Danna, yeah!" Deidara pretended to cry.

"That was the entire point."

"What are we doing anyway? We look like colorful Zetsus, yeah."

They were hiding in a bush with long stalks of grass taped to their heads. Sasori had binoculars that extended the lens so he could look in Sakura's bedroom. They had a special feature: x-ray vision. The curtain in front of the window was no obstacle.

"We're observing," Sasori briefly explained.

"We're stalking, yeah. It was your idea anyway, yeah. I'll blame it on you," Deidara mumbled, but loud enough for Sasori to hear.

"Keep talking. It'll come back around to whip you in the end."

"I heavily dislike you, yeah."

"Is 'hate' not in your vocab?"

"It is! I just don't like to use it, yeah!"

"Then you're a baka."

"Oi! I'm not always a baka, yeah! I'm just a baka when I need to be one 'cause the situation needs it!"

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Let me concentrate."

Silence ensued for a little longer and Deidara pouted the entire time. But Deidara was never one for peace and broke the peace.

"Itachi likes her too, yeah."

"I know, I saw Pein and Zetsu too. Have you seen anyone else?"

"Kakuzu, yeah. What do we do now?"

"Nothing yet."

* * *

Sakura knew she had two stalker-ish guys after her but was really surprised to see a pile of letters. All of them having the return address of the Uchiha Mansion. All of them asking her to got out with so called 'me.'

After getting dressed and performing her morning rituals, she stormed over to the Uchiha mansion. Junichi answered the door and Sakura didn't even bother to greet him.

Sasuke was still knocked out on the couch and Sakura knew he hadn't moved an inch.

"Junichi-san, where's Itachi?" Sakura asked through clenched teeth.

"In his former room, demo Sakura-san-"

Junichi didn't get to finish before Sakura marched up the spiraling staircase. She didn't know which room was Itachi's but she had a fair idea. There was a door with a symbol for vermillion on it. When she reached it, she slammed a fist into the knob.

The man inside was terrified out of his wit. There was a woman, more specifically the woman who he spent seven hours writing notes to, glaring at him. Normally he had some sort of thing to say but he had to wing it this time.

"Sakura, hon. Strange meeting you at this time," Itachi greeted.

"Save the act. What the hell were you thinking?! I know you were part of the Akatsuki and now Nagato's gonna be after me!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I wanted to ask you out in a more romantic setting."

"Screw romance! The last person I want after me is Nagato!"

* * *

**Yeah, it's not the best chapter ever but I introduced Itachi. And yes, Nagato is now in the running!**

**Choose the person you want added next:**

**A) Neji**

**B) Shikamaru**

**C) Kiba**

**D) Kakashi**

**E) Shino**

**I'm thinking about adding Zetsu, even if he is creepy. But tell me what you think! R&R please!**


	6. White Peace

**Chapter 6: White Peace**

**Hi! I'm so happy with the progress in Things Could Be! Thanks for all the reviews on it! I'm baaaaaaaack from vacation! We all went to Oahu, for the second time****. I wanna go to Maui sometime too. Sorry if I sound really selfish but we all want something don't we? Hope you all didn't miss me too much ;). It was _interesting_... A _looooooooooooot_ of Japanese citizens go to Hawaii. My cousin said it's because vacationing in Hawaii is really cheap for them. Anyway, a lot of store vendors and clerks speak both Japanese and English. I'm Japanese-American so I'm assuming the clerks thought I was full Japanese and asked what I wanted in Japanese. I know some stuff but I don't know much. They looked so surprised when I said my order in English. There was also this really big mall ****and I wanted to go through all those designer brand stores (of course I wasn't gonna buy anything though) but the rest of the fam skimmed past them. And breakfast was _really, REALLY_ good. There were these crepes and chocolate croissants and whipping cream...**

**Okay whatever, I don't think you guys want to hear me rant. I had a fun time and my fam's awesome...and interesting...**

**And I've decided to be more descriptive in my writing. And maybe I'll start proofreading more strictly...**

**Thanks to:**

_**XxNina-HimexX**_

_**itachi13080**_

_**MoonflowerDaydreamer**_

**Congrats to Neji! RIP beAUTIFUL prodigy!**

**Disclaimer: The usual, duh.**

* * *

Sakura thankfully headed to Tsunade's office after her dispute with Itachi. The only person who could handle her anger at the moment was her mentor...and Tsunade had called her for some medical purpose.

It had gone somewhat like this:

_Flashback_

"Aww, if Nagato comes after you, I'm always there to protect you!" Itachi cooed and smirked, something Sakura found attractive and repulsing at the same time.

"Fuck you. I hope I never marry in this village. Suna's a better choice," Sakura replied bitterly.

"That hurts." He put a hand over his heart. "Wouldn't you like it better if I followed you to Suna?"

She glared at him with the force of an atomic bomb and gritted out, "sure, I hope you die on the way."

_End Flashback_

Yeah, so she was heading to Hokage Tower. Once she reached the building, she noticed the main door was propped open by a trash can. She didn't give much thought to it and headed up the stairs to her mentor's office.

"Sakura, what happened?" Tsunade asked immediately.

"Itachi was pissing me off. What's this about a medical issue?" Sakura steered the Hokage away from the topic.

"Oh, well the Kazekage was asking for a favor involving his sister and I'm too busy at the moment for this task."

_'Arigato, shishou! I get to go away from here!'_

"I'm sending Neji with you as your escort.

_'Wait, wha?'_

"You'll leave tomorrow. I arranged a plane to take you. Don't give me that look. Going on foot would be three days but now I shortened it to two hours," Tsunade explained and grinned suggestively.

Sakura half-heartedly glared at her. Whole-heartly glaring would earn her the fist. "Hai, Tsunade-sama."

* * *

"Sakura-chan! Let's go get ramen! I haven't had any since I had my diarrhea!" Naruto waved at her from down the street.

She had just exited Hokage tower and wondered how Naruto could blurt stuff out so shamelessly. Regardless, she walked down the road to him and agreed to his invitation/order for ramen.

"Oh, and I invited Ino, Hinata-chan, Teme, Shikamaru, Tenten, Kiba, that one guy I can't remember, Chōji, aaaaand Neji!" Naruto added.

Sakura nearly stumbled. Okay, so maybe Neji was really attractive...in a calming sort of way. Someone like Deidara was the type of person that wanted to cling to her every single second of every single day and touch every inch of her. Neji was more like the type of person who would ask before doing; a gentleman. Sakura honestly didn't know what she was looking for in a guy but Neji seemed to have some of those characteristics.

"Sasuke woke up?" she asked, attempting to keep concern out of her voice but failing.

"Hai, he was really pissed at Itachi."

"Why? Itachi didn't do anything."

Sakura didn't know why she she was defending the chief of police. It wasn't even her intention. The words just fell out of her mouth.

"I dunno. Let's go! I see that guy that I can't remember!" Naruto ran off towards a guy with spiky dark hair and round sunglasses.

Sakura took off after him and recognized the guy as Shino. He was awfully quiet, Kiba had told her Shino wanted to be remembered. Sakura wondered why he didn't take his glasses off. People would notice him then.

"Naruto," Shino greeted.

"Hi! What's your name again?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

Sakura sweatdropped and saw Shino's eyebrow twitch.

"His name is Shino, you baka," she whispered to him.

"Oh! Right, you're the guy with the bug nursery! Gomen," Naruto apologized.

Shino's eyebrow twitched again and he entered Ichiraku without another word.

"He's so weird," Naruto muttered rather loudly.

Sakura noticed Shino's back tense and she smacked the back of Naruto's head. "You hurt his feelings, baka!"

"Gomen," he mumbled while whimpering.

"Let's just go in," she ordered.

Everyone Naruto invited was already inside. Ino waved Sakura over to an empty stool next to her. The pink-haired woman mentally groaned at seeing Neji in the seat next to hers. She honestly hoped he didn't think she was an option...romantically anyway.

"Did Tsunade-sama give you an errand too?" Ino asked.

"Hai, I have to go to Suna for Kazekage-sama's sister for something," Sakura replied and paused, pink appearing on her cheeks.

"OMG, you're blushing! What for?!" Ino demanded.

Sakura felt her gaze shift to the side for a second, in Neji's direction. Was it that obvious?

The Hyūga had his eyes closed in thought. Sakura peeled her eyes away from him before Ino could see anything. She didn't want a boyfriend or guys trailing after her. Kumo didn't give her much of a choice back then. But this was her new life, and it wasn't going to be the same. Sakura firmly decided that she wasn't letting any man into her life. Well, there were men in her life but she didn't want any romantically involved with her.

She saw Sasuke further down next to Naruto. They were already arguing; who knows what this time. Maybe kinda sorta deeeeeeeeeeeeep deeeeeep down she felt kinda sorry about knocking him out.

Ino nudged her and Sakura realized Ayame was waiting for her order. "Gomen, I'll just have a miso ramen."

"What's up with you?" Ino asked.

"Ahaha, nothing! Ooh, that was quick!"

Sakura gratefully began eating the ramen that Ayame placed in front of her. Ino had the look on her face that said, 'we're talking about this later.'

The others received their meals as well. Sakura figured that Teuchi wasn't busy today and was probably already prepared for Naruto. Speaking of which, the loud mouth was demanding for another bowl of ramen. Sasuke looked ready to smack him. Shikamaru was asleep and Hinata, next to him, was blushing at hearing Naruto's voice. Tenten had a pleased face and Sakura had to wonder why. Kiba seemed like he was trying to keep up with Naruto, obviously failing. Chōji had absolutely no problem with scarfing down as many noodles as the ramen-loving blonde. Shino somehow ate his ramen without showing his mouth.

As Sakura finished her bowl she reached to her side to grab a napkin, meeting someone else's hand. She widened her eyes and looked to see who it was.

Neji had the same expression on his face as his hand retreated. Flustered, Sakura hid her face behind her bangs and left. Ino smirked at the scene and began whispering to Tenten. Naruto, Kiba, Chōji, and Shikamaru didn't notice because they were either stuffing their faces or sleeping the day away. Hinata smiled at her cousin who simply chose to ignore everyone around him. Sasuke snapped the hashi in his hand and glared at his bowl of ramen.

"Oi, Neji! Are you and Sakura hiding something from us?" Ino asked slyly.

"I'm leaving," the Hyūga stated and hastily walked out of the restaurant.

"They're _so_ hiding something!" Tenten and Ino exclaimed in unison.

Sasuke stormed out of the ramen bar before anyone else could notice him.

* * *

Sakura was still blushing after she got to her apartment. She tried several things to take her mind off that moment, such as watching TV, baking cookies, or even attempting to do yoga. Nothing was working.

"And damn, I'll be with him for a week and a half."

She packed a backpack with clothing and other necessities before heading to her bedroom to sleep.

Luckily her dreams were filled with prancing ponies and not Neji.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura heard a knock on her door while she was making breakfast.

_'Thank Kami I wasn't in the shower!'_ she thought and went to answer it. Neji was standing there politely, looking like the gentleman he was.

"Is it time for the mission already?" Sakura asked with a sigh at the end.

"Hai, I'll be waiting at the gates," he replied and disappeared.

Sakura closed her door and returned to making breakfast. _'Oatmeal really sounds delicious,'_ she thought sarcastically.

After finishing her meal, she grabbed her backpack and locked the front door behind her.

* * *

When she reached the Konoha gate, Neji nodded at her and they started walking out. He didn't offer conversation and she didn't try to start one.

Sakura just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following them.

* * *

**OMG, it's been so long since I updated this story...or updated in general. I don't think I'll be able to update until the 28th since I have another horse show.**

**Who's following them? I've already decided, sorry, but you can guess.**

**A) Deidara**

**B) Sasori**

**C) Sasuke**

**D) Shikamaru**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll update Things Could Be when I'm finished with the show and then I'll update this one. Please R&R!**


	7. Paranoia

**Chapter 7: Paranoia**

**Hi! I'm going to clarify some things about the last chapter. Sakura and Neji have to walk to a place where the airplane will take them to Suna. Gaara is just a friend. I like GaaraSaku but this story doesn't have it. No NaruSaku either. I don't support the pairing but it's better than a lot of other pairings out there. Sorry for not making that clear. School started so updates will definitely be slower and at odd intervals. Apologies to people who read my stories.**

**Please check out my story ideas on my profile page and vote in the poll! I don't know which one of them to put on FF after I finish TCB and QOE.**

**And to who the stalker(s) might be? ****You'll find out in this chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I would be honored to own Naruto but alas I don't so yeah.**

* * *

"Sakura-san, I'd appreciate it if you could keep your attention straight ahead instead of behind us," Neji said without looking back at Sakura.

"Uh, gomen," she apologized and turned forward.

The Hyūga narrowed his eyes and sharpened his senses. Sakura wasn't the type to be distracted by a tree or a bird. After all, a Hyūga is a master at everything; concentration is no different. The padding of footsteps could be sensed from a few kilometers back, slightly slurred so Neji assumed whoever was following them was shuffling.

"Why are we being followed?" he asked plainly.

Sakura jerked in surprise. "How should I know? For all I know there could be more than one of them."

Neji scowled. He didn't exactly know why, but he hated what Sakura just said. So what if she had men trailing after her in Konoha? That didn't mean they knew about this mission.

"Walk in front of me. I'll see who it is," he commanded and slowed down so she could pass him. He couldn't define the actual form of whoever was following them, but knew there was more than one person.

Sakura was hiding her stress well in her opinion. It might not show, but she was panicking like no tomorrow. It felt like sweat was pouring down her back and she thanked the backpack she was carrying for hiding it. Normally, she'd vent about all the things she was thinking about. But Neji had a calming feeling around him, like never-melting ice cream on a hot day.

She sighed, not realizing that by thinking about that made her sweat dry on her skin.

After continuing in silence for a few more minutes, Sakura spotted a sleek runway with a small but fancy airplane at the end. Neji was concentrated behind them and was almost startled when Sakura nudged him.

"You came with some sort of form to confirm we're who we say we are, right?" Sakura asked.

"I believe that's what an ID is for," Neji answered, his attention vaguely on the conversation. He found that three people were following them. Two of them were continuously fighting and one of them trailed behind.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Tsunade-sama isn't _that_ reliant. She had to give you something."

The Hyūga didn't reply so Sakura reached for his backpack and saw a manila folder tucked in the front. She grabbed it and began searching through the folder for any sort of boarding pass or maybe a assignment statement.

"There's just copies of our IDs," she stated and took the piece of paper with said information on it.

"Go ahead. I need to take care of something," Neji replied.

Sakura wasn't sure if that meant he had personal business or if he was like Sasuke and had to brood for fifteen minutes so she just decided to leave the matter alone.

"Alright, see you." She waved and headed towards the plane.

Neji turned to where his senses told him their followers were. "Come out. It's stupid to hide yourselves with the commotion you're causing."

"Sasori-no-danna! You heard him, yeah," one said.

"Shut up, Deidara. I'm moving," another muttered.

Three men stepped out. Two looked tousled and were heavily glaring at one another. Neji knew of them but had no clue what their names were. The third surprised him.

"What the hell are you doing here, Nara?" he asked.

"Unlike these two, I actually have a job and I have to go with you to Suna. These guys I don't care about but I just figured it'd be too troublesome to let them go off on their own," Shikamaru explained and sighed at the end.

"What's your assignment?" Neji pressed on.

Shikamaru yawned but by the slack in his jaw, the Hyūga knew it was forced. "I'm supposed to help Kazekage-sama with something troublesome."

"What are you supposed to help him with?"

"Geez, aren't you the interrogator."

"That didn't answer the question."

"He's supposed to-OW YOU MEANIE, YEAH!" Deidara whimpered when Shikamaru smacked him.

Neji narrowed his eyes. Shikamaru never hit anyone unless he was immediate danger. Whatever Deidara was about to say was important.

"Sakura's waiting for us on the plane," he said.

None of them hesitated to start running, not even Shikamaru. When they reached the plane, Sakura was standing outside with her arms crossed and a pissed expression on her face.

"What the hell, Sasori?! I knew it was you!" She pointed an accusing finger at the artist, immediately wishing she wasn't there.

"Me what? I've done a lot of things," Sasori responded, his half-lidded eyes looking up and down Sakura's body.

"Danna! Stop making perverted thoughts about my Sakura, yeah!" Deidara ordered.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Do you honestly expect me to listen to you?"

"Obviously! I'm the real artist after all, yeah!"

"No one can ever savor your art. Art is meant to preserved for the future. Art is eternal beauty."

"Iie! Art is an explosion, yeah!"

Neji saw Sakura curve her eyes in admiration. Even if she ran away from them, the sliver of affection she still had was clear. A sliver that could be opened wide. It was almost like a wake-up slap.

"Oi, guys! We need to get moving!" she shouted over their argument and boarded the plane without a glance back.

"Yeah! You heard her!" Deidara bounded after her with Sasori not far behind. Shikamaru didn't bother to let Neji go in front of him as he got on. The Hyūga merely ground his teeth together in irritation before following.

The inside of the plane wasn't impressive to Neji or Sasori since both were accustomed to fancy planes. Sakura had been on Sasori's family's plane before, but she preferred not to recall that time. Deidara was poking everything and attempting to figure out how to entertain himself on the plane ride. Shikamaru fell asleep as soon as he sat in a chair...or that's what it looked like.

"Attention, passengers. This is your captain speaking. This flight will be about four hours so please make yourselves comfortable. Your flight attendant will go over safety procedures. Thank you for joining us on this flight," the pilot said on the intercom.

Sakura rolled her eyes. She would've never been on this plane if her two exes followed her everywhere. Four hours. Trapped with them. With no escape. Suddenly the bathroom looked like a very comfortable place.

"Sakura, here," Shikamaru's voice shook her out of her thoughts.

In his hand was a cup of bubbly water with a maraschino cherry. She wondered how he knew what her favorite drink was but decided against asking.

"Arigatō," was all she said and gratefully sipped the beverage. The fizziness felt like sparks down her throat but she didn't care.

"Did Tsunade-sama even tell you why Temari needed help?" Shikamaru asked.

She shook her head and bit into the maraschino. "Who's Temari?"

"Kazekage-sama's sister. It's all really troublesome, but she caught some sort of infection and Suna's top doctors couldn't cure it." Shikamaru yawned after he finished explaining.

Sakura instantly felt selfish for wishing she had a different assignment. Thanks to Tsunade, the medical world was far more advanced than it had ever been. If Suna couldn't cure Temari, then the only people more qualified were Tsunade and herself. She completely tuned out the flight attendant's speech about safety and the fact that she was checking out all four men. The only part that snapped her back was when 'seatbelt' was mentioned. Sakura hurriedly buckled in and tightened the strap.

She was most definitely hiding somewhere during this flight.

* * *

About half an hour into the flight, Sakura had taken out Suna Zokuwa, a magazine completely filled with gossip. She pretended to be heavily invested in it to avoid communication with the males on this flight.

Deidara had passed out a while ago because Sasori hit him for shouting while the plane was taking off. The artist himself was toying with a wooden contraption which Sakura could already assume was a puppet. Shikamaru was, of course, asleep with soft snores escaping his mouth. Neji was...filing his nails? Sakura didn't even bother to hide her sweatdrop.

The captain had allowed them to unbuckle their seat belts fifteen minutes into the flight. Shikamaru had taken full advantage and sleepwalked to the couch. No one else had moved themselves.

Without bothering to say anything, Sakura stood up and walked hastily to the restroom. It might not be a mile away from her exes but at least it put a barrier between them. Just after she locked the door, a hand covered her mouth and muffled her scream. Her attempts to wiggle around were futile. Another arm snaked around her waist to hold her still and to Sakura's horror, she recognized the ring with the kanji for 'zero' inscribed on it. She turned enough to see Nagato with piercings covering his face and unruly orange hair sticking up everywhere. His eyes held mischief, obviously enjoying her struggle.

"You can't run forever," he whispered in her ear.

His breath on her skin made her shiver.

* * *

**I haven't updated in forever! I'm sorry for the wait and sorry this chapter is short. It's all I had time for. School just started and I can't wait for it to be over. Labor Day is soon though :D**

**Please check out my profile and vote for which story you'd like to see next. And review please!**


	8. NOT A CHAPTER!

**NOT A CHAPTER!**

**I'm so freakin' stressed with updating and school work so I'll update this story when I'm finished with Things Could Be. It's just too hard to worry about both. Life sucks ass right now and not even Tamaki can fix it :(. And maybe it'll be helpful, 'cause I haven't had a good idea in a long time.**

**BTW, don't read the book I just read. It ruined the week :(! I'm not gonna tell you which book it is otherwise that'd be rude and I don't wanna be mean...for the moment. So, I guess just ignore that statement...**

**Sorry to those of you that like this story! I'll get back on it when I finish my other story.**

**~O/^\O~ Lazuli**


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